


Beeing There

by Megatraven



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, Gen, also queen bee is called abeille in this, chlonette, unedited, well it's implied to happen anyways
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 13:54:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10641219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megatraven/pseuds/Megatraven
Summary: A restless Chloe spots one Marinette Dupain-Cheng out late and alone while she patrols the city.





	

"Great," Chloe sighed, turning over in her bed for what she assumed had to have been the twentieth time. It was the start of the weekend, and she'd gone to bed early so that she could make her appointments the next day, As her luck would have it, sleep wasn't coming to take her, and she was instead left with the deafening silence of her room. That wasn't bad, really, but it did leave her to her thoughts, which she preferred not to be left alone with. That's why she constantly surrounded herself with people or kept her attention focused on her phone. When it was as late as it was, though, and with her phone half-way across the room, she really only had a few options.

Option 1 was already crossed out on her mental list; she wasn't going to linger on the thoughts that haunted her until she fell asleep. Option 2 was better, but not very favorable. She could talk to her kwami, and as much as she loved Pollen, she never gave the kind of advice Chloe needed. She also didn't give the attention Chloe craved, although she couldn't fault the kwami for that. Very few people could give it to her, after all.

And then, there was Option 3, which, as it so happened, was her favorite of the bunch. She could transform into Abeille and watch over her city in a way Chloe Bourgeois never could. She could make sure no drunks were causing trouble, no shadows in the night were _too_ shifty, and most of all... she could ensure the people she loved were safe from harm for another night. That pretty much sealed the deal for her.

In a flourish, she threw the covers away from her and slid her legs over the bed's side. After a quick stretch, she bounced up and made a beeline to the bathroom, where she ran her fingers through her hair multiple times in an attempt to decide whether she should pull it into a hasty ponytail or leave it down. Her hand hovered over a hairband before dropping back to her side, the decision made. It was late anyways, she doubted anyone would care if her hair was down. Lord knows she certainly didn't just then- she just wanted to get out.

"Hey," she whispered, walking back to her bed to jostle the kwami that slept in the pillows by her head. When dark blue eyes peered back at her light blue ones, she gave a small smile. "Can we go out tonight?"

"Now?" the tiny bee asked, her voice tired. She saw the way Chloe's hand rubbed at her wrist- a nervous habit, she'd come to learn- as well as how her chosen tried to avoid making eye contact just then, as if guilty. She yawned. "Fine, fine."

Chloe's smile turned relieved. "Thanks," she told Pollen, placing a quick kiss on her forehead. Standing up, she called out in a hushed yell, "Pollen, antennae up!"

An energy filled the air as she transformed, and persisted when it was finished. Abeille stood where Chloe had just a moment before, oozing the kind of confidence Chloe wished she had in her civilian life. That wasn't to say she _wasn't_ confident then- she definitely was- but there was a notable difference to her. Shaking her head of those thoughts, she stepped out to her balcony and jumped, allowing her wings to catch her. The feeling that came from flying was probably her favorite one. It was the wind blowing in her face and through her hair, the chill hugging her in a familiar way. It was perfect.

She made large loops in the sky, laughing at being able to do what had always been impossible before she'd come across her miraculous. Her heart soared as the rest of her did.

But, even with the joys of flying, the euphoria of trusting herself, she knew she had actual work to do while transformed. After looping once more, she sped away, searching for anything amiss, for anything that could possibly need her help and attention.

The streets were surprisingly empty, only a few people lingering about here and there. There wasn't even any trouble that she could see. Her flying slowed to a more relaxed speed, the rapid beating of her wings calming just slightly. Her eyes still searched the city, but knowing there were no immediate dangers she could spot put her at ease as she grew close to her home.

Home.

She faltered, grimacing at the thought. She didn't want to go home yet. Her mind was still too active, and she didn't really feel tired enough to try sleeping again. "Whatever," she muttered, "I'll just do one more round and call it a night I guess."

Her usual route went by quickly, and before she knew it, she was at it's end. She hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary, and while she supposed that was all good and great for the city, it put a damper on Chloe's plan to distract herself. As she approached her home for what she thought to be the final time that night, a person that could only be familiar at this point caught her attention.

Silent as a bee, Abeille hovered in the air, watching as her long-time classmate Marinette Dupain-Cheng left her own house and made her way to the nearby park. Now, even though Chloe had become nicer and kinder to everyone in her school, and even though she'd dished out many, many apologies... there was still a barrier between her and a few of the students. Marinette was one of them, and Chloe really couldn't find it in her heart to blame the girl, after everything she'd done in the past. That, of course, didn't discourage Chloe in her endeavors to achieve friendship with her old rival. And seeing the girl now, she was struck with an idea.

Maybe _Abeille_ could be friends with her.

First, though... she needed to figure out why Marinette was out so late, and why she was alone. With ease, Abeille landed nearby, silent and studying. She saw the hunch of Marinette's shoulders, the tension in her whole body, the way she seemed to curl into herself in an attempt to minimize the space she took up in the world. Marinette didn't speak at all, instead staring at everything and nothing in front of her.

For several long moments, the heroine was unsure if she should approach and say something, or just leave the girl before her to do whatever it was she was doing. Just when she finally moved to turn away, some feeling in her gut made her pause and look back, one more time.

She heard it before she saw it. It started with a small hiccuping sound, unnoticeable if a person's full focus wasn't on her. Then, it slowly grew into full-on crying, and Abeille could see how it shook her body.

If Abeille said she were shocked, that would be an understatement. For all of the terrible things she had said, she'd never broken Marinette, never made her cry. And seeing a person so strong breaking down on a park bench nearing 3 AM? She had no idea what to do, but even then, she found her legs carrying her forward until she was sitting next to her crying classmate.

Whether Marinette noticed or not, Abeille couldn't tell. But that didn't really matter to her. In what was probably the most awkward moment of her life, Abeille placed her hand on Marinette's shoulder, ignored the way she froze, and started talking about anything and everything.

"When I was a kid, I used to hide beneath park benches whenever my mother and father took me out walking. I thought they were the most genius of hiding places, and my parents played along for a little while. Then I started getting older, and they started putting expectations on me. I was to sit on the benches, not hide beneath them. The fun of it kind of died anyways at that point."

Abeille spared Marinette a quick glance, and felt her heart clench at the sight of tear-stained cheeks and watery eyes. A quick shoulder squeeze later, the heroine continued, "I remember, there was this one time that I got scared, and I ran all the way from my home to the park. I think it was this exact one, actually. I must have hid underneath the bench for an hour before anyone thought to look here for me. I was crying and there was- well, there was this girl and she had come up to me and took my hand. She got me out from underneath and we sat together up until my mother came a few minutes later." Sniffles came from the girl beside her, but looking now, Abeille saw some kind of disbelief on her face. She chalked it up to Marinette not expecting a superhero to be telling her about hiding under park benches. "I never got her name but... I still think about her sometimes. She was really, very kind to me. Don't think I ever saw her again, either, but it was a long time ago and I had been crying, so I never even saw her face clearly. My mother pulled me up by the arm and dragged me back home and that was that."

"I'm sorry," Marinette said slowly, bringing her hand up to wipe her eyes and nose. She paused when she pulled her hand from her nose, as if she'd suddenly become self conscious of wiping it in front of Abeille. That soon passed, however, and with a small shrug she wiped it off on her skirt.

Smiling warmly, Abeille removed her hand from Marinette's shoulder and placed it over her hands instead. In as gentle a voice she could, she responded, "Don't be." The smile dropped. "Are... you okay? I know I kind of came here out of the blue, but I couldn't just leave you without doing something."

When Marinette looked away, fear creeped into Abeille's chest as she thought, just maybe, she had said the wrong thing. But just as quickly as it came, the fear was snuffed out. Marinette sighed, her shoulders drooping but her hands turning to hold onto the heroine's. A  squeeze stronger than Abeille would have ever guessed. "I... well, I just. Really messed up tonight. My friends all told me to slow down on this project, but I didn't _listen_ and I ruined everything." Her hands dropped the heroine's and flew into the air in exasperation, and she started gesturing wildly as her story unfolded. "I've barely been sleeping for like, the past couple of weeks because I've been so focused on finishing and then I fell asleep tonight. I fell asleep working on it. Just for a few seconds, but it was long enough to hit my coffee off the desk and send it flying right onto the dress. The whole thing is trash now. I wasted so many hours on it, but worse than that, I wasted my friends' time and the materials they helped me get for it."

By the time Marinette had finished speaking, her cheeks were flushed and her breathing came out in shuddering gasps. Her hands formed fists that slowly sank down to rest on the bench, and tears had started to prick at the corners of her eyes again.

Abeille, afraid of seeing her break down into tears again, quickly grabbed hold of her closest hand and said, "It's okay! I'm sure you didn't waste your time as much as you think you did! It sounds like you spent a lot of time on it, so you probably learned a lot while making it! And I'm sure your friends will be supportive and help you figure something out. Like, yeah, ruining your dress really, really sucks, but I'm very confident everything will work out fine."

She said that pretty well, if Abeille said so herself. Pride welled in her chest at having spoken so confidently on the matter. Looking at Marinette, though, made the pride flicker out. Her eyes had grown more watery, and her lips quivered in a way that was _not_ distracting, not at all. Before Abeille could react, Marinette lunged forward and snaked her arms around the heroine's torso, letting out her cries as soon as she was latched on.

Unsure of what to do, the heroine simply held the crying girl in her arms and rubbed soothing circles on her back. They stayed like that for several minutes, until Marinette's crying slowed to a stop. Marinette disengaged from the embrace, and Abeille let her go, not willing to admit to herself or anyone else that she missed the warmth.

Sniffling, Marinette thanked the heroine, and after some small chat, she was escorted home. "Really- thank you, for letting me cry and just. I dunno. Being there. That was really kind of you," she said as she opened the door to her parents' house.

Abeille expected her to go in right away, but instead the girl hesitated and looked as if she still had something to say. "What is it?" she prompted.

It was an oddly endearing experience to see her classmate psyching herself. It was even more endearing, if alarming, when she practically shouted, "I wanted you to know that I appreciate what you did and wanted to say you're welcome for sitting with you at the bench all those years ago, Chloe!"

The heroine's eyes widened in shock, but before she could even think of a response, the door was slammed in her face, and a very surprised Abeille stood there frozen.

"I... did that really just happen?" she asked no one.Thinking back on the moment when a little girl's tiny fingers had urged her out from under a park bench, Abeille was surprised. She did remember the girl wearing tiny pigtails, and if she thought hard enough, she _might_ have seen younger versions of Marinette's parents in the park that day. The Dupain-Chengs had lived above their bakery for years, it only made sense that Marinette had grown up in the area and could have been at the park the same time as her.

Whether Abeille wanted to believe it or not, there was no denying the connection between Marinette's previous look of disbelief and the way she named her civilian identity like it was nothing.

Finally making her way back to the hotel, Abeille was semi-glad for the developments of the night. She had something new to focus on, something to wonder about in terms of her relationship with Marinette. (She was pretty positive that, back when they had their first class together, Marinette had tried to tell her about the bench and Chloe had brushed it off without listening. She regretted that.)

The transformation dropped, and suddenly Chloe stood where the heroine had, Pollen already floating away. "Butterscotch is next to the bed," she murmured.

"I know," her kwami replied. "Exciting night?"

"I guess you could call it that. Not sure if I'll be able to sleep or not thinking about it, in all honesty."

"Hm." The kwami didn't speak after that, leaving Chloe to her own devices.

She laid down in her bed and let her mind wander through all the possibilities of when could happen now that Marinette knew she was one of Paris' heroes. Despite the interesting debate her mind held on the subject, she slipped into a peaceful sleep,

* * *

Their next school day, Chloe was given a pleasant surprise when Marinette gave her a far warmer look than normal. It took a long minute before Chloe remembered just how to function, at which point she smiled at a rosy-cheeked Marinette.

  
She did not miss the small bag of pastries that sat on her usual seat, And you can bet she didn't miss the note stuck to the side that was punctuated with doodled hearts.


End file.
